Built in 1916 by well-known Wilmington, Del., shipbuilders Harlan and Hollingsworth, the Rosinco (U.S. #214160) was put to sea as Georgiana III. The vessel would, in fact, change hands twice before becoming the Rosinco.
Wilmington had the distinction of being the "cradle" of iron shipbuilding, and Harlan and Hollingsworth became pioneer builders of iron and, later, steel ships in the United States. Indeed, competition in the region was intense. Noting similarities with the unsurpassed iron ship production along Scotland 's Clyde River in the latter nineteenth-century, maritime historian David Tyler once referred to the Delaware River as the "American Clyde."
Georiana III was built for William G. Coxe, president of Harlan and Hollingsworth, and designed chiefly by the company's naval architect, A.M. Main. The vessel's overall length was 95 feet 2 ½ inches. Incorporating the "desirable and practical features of the commercial vessel, the destroyer, and the old steam yacht," the vessel marked a decided transition from traditional motor yacht construction.
In December 1916, The Motor Boat magazine reviewed the vessel and enthusiastically announced that " Georgiana III is a real boat." Lloyd's Register of American Yachts reported the remainder of the vessel's principal dimensions as: length waterline, 93 feet; beam, 15 feet 3 inches; draft, 5 feet 6 inches; gross tonnage, 82 tons; net tonnage, 44 tons.
These dimensions indicate that Georgiana III possessed a high length to beam ratio, the purpose of which was to increase the vessel's speed. Credited with collaborating on the vessel's design, Coxe expressly desired maximum strength and safety, with a minimum of ballast, to achieve "necessary speed, stability, comfort, etc." Her owner's desire for a substantial vessel helped usher in a new era of American power boating.

Final Voyage

April 19, 1928
"Wisconsin-Seven men narrowly escaped drowning when the Rosinco, the luxuriously equipped $150,000 yacht owned by Col. Robert Morse, Chicago, sank in 400 feet of water in Lake MIchigan 12 miles off the coast here about 2:45 a.m. Wednesday."
"The craft had left Milwaukee at midnight on its way to Chicago. When opposite Kenosha, 12 miles out, it apparently struck some floating box timber, and was beneath the water in 10 minutes. Captain Ellison, Chief Engineer Harry Marumrud and John Larson, the lookout, were the only men awake. They turned out their comrades and piled into a motor driven tender and a smaller boat towed behind it. They severed their ropes from the yacht just as its stern raised in the air for its downward dive."

Today

"The Rosinco is intact and sits upright in 195 feet of water; length 88'. Despite looting, there are still artifacts associated at the site, including silverware and china. Commercial fish nets drape the bow and part of the deck house."
A Federal Court case that started in 2000 by an Illinois resident claiming he had title to the Rosinco under admiralty law, was ruled that the State of Wisconsin had title to the wreck. The benchmark case will favor archaeologists and historical preservation officials, across the country, who are trying to protect historical shipwrecks.